Most Popular
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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Illit, mired in controversy, remains on Billboard charts for 5th week
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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[KH Explains] Will alternative trading platform shake up Korean stock market?
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S. Korea to mull extending presale prices of privately built flats
South Korea said Monday it will consider extending a scheme to cap the presale prices of privately built apartments in the case of instability in real estate markets.Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom made comments in a meeting with officials at a building in western Seoul. The comments came more than a week after the government announced a plan to introduce a "presale price cap system" for new apartments built by private builders to help stabilize escalating home prices.The system is
Nov. 18, 2019
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[News Focus] People question policy on Seoul apartments
SEJONG -- An online commenter, who identified himself as a salaried worker in charge of a household, wrote earlier this month that he bought an apartment in Seoul during the latter part of the Park Geun-hye administration (2013-2017).The price of the apartment has climbed 300 million won ($257,000) during President Moon Jae-in’s term, which began in May 2017, according to the commenter’s post.“But I don’t feel so happy when I think about (negative) effects of this kind of
Nov. 17, 2019
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S. Korea mulling separate FTAs with more ASEAN member states
South Korea is exploring the possibility of forging individual free trade deals with more ASEAN member states, a senior trade official has said, in a move to further boost growing economic ties with the region.South Korea has a free trade agreement with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, but Seoul has been pushing for separate free trade deals with individual members of the Southeast Asian bloc. "We are reviewing the possibility of free trade agreements" with some of
Nov. 17, 2019
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Slowing exports weigh on S. Korea's economic growth: ministry
South Korea's weak investment and slowing exports have undermined its economic growth, the finance ministry said Friday."Overall industrial output and consumption are on the rise, but a sluggish trend persists in exports and construction investment, weighing on economic growth," the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in its monthly economic assessment report. The report, called the "Green Book," is based on the latest economic indicators of such key factors as output, expor
Nov. 15, 2019
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Korea’s top IP office to support materials sector via big data
The Korean Intellectual Property Office said Thursday it plans to help boost competitiveness of the local materials, parts and equipment sectors and reduce their reliance on foreign technologies through its system of IP big data. According to the nation’s top IP office, its plan involves four goals: cut back foreign dependency of materials, parts and equipment-related technology; innovate South Korea’s research and development system to a more IP-centered one; bolster IP competitiven
Nov. 14, 2019
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OECD leading index for S. Korea edges down in Sept.
A leading economic index for South Korea inched down in September, heralding a contraction for Asia's No. 4 economy down the road, data showed Thursday.The composite leading indicator of economic activity for South Korea stood at 98.69 in September, down 0.09 point from the previous month, according to the data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.September marked the 28th consecutive month of on-month decline, the longest losing streak among members of the Paris-based
Nov. 14, 2019
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Auto exports fall 10 % in Oct.
South Korea's vehicle exports fell 10 percent last month from a year earlier due to lower demand in emerging markets, data showed Thursday. South Korean carmakers shipped a total of 208,714 vehicles in October, down from 230,086 units a year ago amid a slowing global economy, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement. "Lower demand in Asia and Latin America fully offset increased sales of Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. in North America and rising demand in
Nov. 14, 2019
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Employment indexes improve, but key age groups, sectors still suffer
South Korea’s key job indexes showed visible progress in October, with the employment rate hitting a 23-year high for any October and the jobless rate at its lowest in six years, government data showed Wednesday.But despite the general uptrend, the nation’s backbone manufacturing industry continued to shed jobs. The figures for those in their 30s and 40s also continued to disappoint, stirring up concerns that the apparent improvement is mostly driven by government spending in the pub
Nov. 13, 2019
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S. Korea's economy likely to grow 2.3 % in 2020: KDI
South Korea's economy is expected to grow 2.3 percent in 2020, slightly higher than this year's estimated 2 percent expansion, on the back of a slight improvement in domestic demand and exports, the state-run Korea Development Institute said Wednesday.The growth outlook for next year is line with a forecast by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.In September, the OECD said Asia's fourth-largest economy could expand 2.3 percent in 2020, slower than its previous forecast of 2
Nov. 13, 2019
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S. Korea to build more smart factories to deal with demographic change
South Korea will build 30,000 smart factories and 10 smart industrial zones by 2022 as part of efforts to deal with a looming decline of the country's working-age population, the finance minister said Wednesday.Hong Nam-ki said the number of people working at smart factories and smart industrial zones could stand at 100,000, which he said would help improve productivity.A smart factory is a highly digitized and connected production facility aimed at improving productivity and safety at workplace
Nov. 13, 2019
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Seoul unveils plan to invigorate reverse mortgages for elderly homeowners
South Korea announced plans to kick-start the so-called reverse annuity mortgage market Wednesday in an effort to help support elderly homeowners financially.The measure, unveiled by a pan-governmental task force on population policy, would lower the age limit for applicants for reverse annuity mortgages to 55 from the current 60 years old.The government will also push to expand the scope of eligible homes. Owners of homes with a government-set price of 900 million won ($771,000) or lower will b
Nov. 13, 2019
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Korea's jobless rate hits 6-year low in October, over 400,000 jobs created
South Korea's jobless rate hit a six-year low in October, and job additions came to 419,000 from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday. The unemployment rate fell 0.5 percentage point on-year to 3 percent in October, also marking the lowest level for any October since 2013. The number of employed people reached 27.5 million in October, a rise of 419,000 from the same month in 2018, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the third straight
Nov. 13, 2019
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M&A value in S. Korea reaches W7.3tr in H1
The value of mergers and acquisitions by listed firms in South Korea amounted to 7.3 trillion won ($6.2 billion) in the first six months of this year, data showed Tuesday. There were 139 mergers, spinoffs and business sales in the January-June period, compared with 294 cases worth 38.7 trillion won in 2018, according to the data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service. The half-year value marked the lowest in two years due to a lack of big name mergers, the FSS said. Inter-affiliate M&
Nov. 12, 2019
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[News Focus] Investment banks not upbeat about Korea’s 2020 economy
SEJONG -- South Korea’s economic growth is projected to fall behind that of the US this year, according to outlooks from global investment banks and international organizations.Most of them have predicted that Korea’s 2019 gross domestic product growth will stay at about 2 percent or under on-year, and some researchers at home and abroad are further expecting the gloomy situation to continue in 2020.Fitch Ratings, J.P. Morgan and Barclays have forecast 2.3 percent growth for South Ko
Nov. 12, 2019
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S. Korea to strive to attain higher economic growth in 2020
South Korea's finance minister said Monday that the government will make efforts to achieve economic growth of more than 2.3 percent next year.Hong Nam-ki made the pledge citing recent improved growth forecasts by the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.The IMF and the OECD have projected that the South Korean economy could grow 2.2 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively, in 2020."I am neither excessively optimistic nor pessimistic on nex
Nov. 11, 2019
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Number of Chinese tourists dips 41 % over 3 years on THAAD row
South Korea suffered a some 41 percent tumble in the number of visiting Chinese tourists over the past three years since its decision to deploy an advanced US missile defense system here, a report said Monday.A total of 4.79 million Chinese visited South Korea in 2018, down 40.6 percent from 8.07 million two years earlier, according to the report from the Federation of Korean Industries. In contrast, the number of Chinese tourists to Japan surged 31.4 percent to 8.38 million over the cited perio
Nov. 11, 2019
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Korea's exports down 20.8 % in first 10 days of November
South Korea's exports fell 20.8 percent in the first 10 days of November mainly due to decreased shipments of semiconductors and ships, customs data showed Monday.The country's exports stood at $11.9 billion in the November 1-10 period, compared with $15 billion in the same period last year, according to the Korea Customs Service. By product, exports of semiconductors and ships fell 33.3 percent and 64.4 percent, respectively. Outbound shipments of petroleum products and passenger cars also decl
Nov. 11, 2019
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S. Korean economy to rebound slightly in 2020: data
South Korea's economy is expected to grow in the low end of 2 percent next year, probably higher than this year's estimated expansion, industry data showed on Sunday.According to the median of eight brokerage houses on next year's growth estimates, Asia's fourth-largest economy is projected to grow 2.1 percent, with the highest estimate being 2.3 percent.They cited the conclusion of the ongoing US-China trade row, expansionary policies in major economies and aggressive fiscal spending here. &quo
Nov. 10, 2019
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Fiscal deficit hit record high amid slow growth, expanded spending
Weighed down by the prolonged slow growth and the government’s consequent fiscal expansion, South Korea’s fiscal deficit reached a record-high level, data by the Ministry of Economy and Finance showed Friday.According to the monthly fiscal trend report, the accumulated fiscal balance as of the end of September stood at 26.5 trillion won ($22.9 billion) in deficit.The corresponding figure had plunged into the red in 2005, 2006, 2009 and from 2013 to 2015, but the latest deficit volume
Nov. 8, 2019
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S&P keeps Korea‘s rating at AA with stable outlook
Standard & Poor‘s on Wednesday affirmed its AA sovereign credit rating for South Korea, despite earlier slashing its growth outlook for Asia’s fourth-largest economy.The global rating agency also maintained its stable outlook for the South Korean economy.“The stable outlook reflects our expectation that geopolitical risks in the Korean Peninsula will not escalate to the point of hurting Korea‘s economic fundamentals over the next two years,” the global rating ag
Nov. 6, 2019